I’m sure a whole lot of us are in that scramble to find living arrangements for that summer right now. Or maybe you’re not sure if you’d be interested in finding a place downtown to live next school year.

Though I don’t claim to be the expert, I’ve found a few tips that might help:

• Looking for summer renting? Start now.
• Looking for renting starting in September? Start in July.
• Prices have apparently gone up ~$100 this year.
• Contracts suck, but you have to do it. If you don’t have a job, make sure you have a co-signer (ie. your parents).

Starting Off:

• Start off by knowing who you’re rooming with (if you are going to room with someone).
• Decide on location and budget.
• Find good days to go looking at places.

Finding Renters:

• http://www.padmapper.com/ is good for basically everything – it’s all combined into one website.
• http://www.viewit.ca/ also has some pretty good stuff.
• https://www.housing.utoronto.ca/student/login.aspx is good if you only want to find places meant for students.

Emailing A Landlord (Template):

Hello _____, (if their ad shows a name)

I saw your ad on <insert link here> and am wondering if the suite/apartment/house/room is still available. Would you be free sometime <insert possible time> for a showing?

Thanks,
<Your name>

However, if they provide a phone number, it’s probably a better idea to call them. Make sure you ask for the exact address of the place, and that you know how to contact them once you’re there.

Filling Out An application:

Depending on the landlord or the agent you’ve contacted, they might be looking for different things in an application form. Sometimes you’ll need a co-signer (someone who makes the money) and other times you won’t. Some things to keep in mind:

• Some landlords will not favour students, so it would be in your best interest to inquire about that early on.
• If you have a parent co-signing for you, they fall under “applicant”.
• Sometimes you may be requested to fill in one application per person.
• If you’re confused, don’t be afraid to ask the agent or landlord to clarify.
• Often, they’ll ask for references. Consider your residence don, a roommate/floormate, or someone else who knows you well.

Getting The Lease Contract:

If you’re approved from the application, they’ll do a credit check. Depending on the situation, it can either be for you or for your parents. Equifax Canada seems to be the most popular choice. You will likely also need to get renter’s insurance – those State Farm commercials don’t seem so useless now, do they?

And, with that, I wish you luck in your epic hunts. Hope this post didn’t come too late.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 27th, 2012 at 8:00 am and is filed under Residence, Survival Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.